The exploration and production of hydrocarbons require the use of numerous types of tubulars also referred to as pipe. Tubulars include but are not limited to drill pipes, casings, and other threadably connectable elements used in well structures. Strings of joined tubulars, or drill strings, are often used to drill a wellbore and, with regards to casing, prevent collapse of the wellbore after drilling. These tubulars are normally assembled in groups of two or more, commonly known as “stands” to be vertically stored in the derrick or mast. The derrick or mast may include a storing structure commonly referred to as a fingerboard. Fingerboards typically include a plurality of vertically elongated support structures or “fingers” each capable of receiving a plurality of “stands.”
Rotary drilling and top drive drilling systems often use these stands, instead of single tubulars, to increase efficiency of drilling operations by reducing the amount of connections required to build the drill string in or directly over the wellbore. However, the manipulation of tubulars from a horizontal to a vertical position, assembly of the stands, and presentation of the stands between the fingerboard and the well-center are dangerous and can be rather inefficient operations. When the stands are stacked densely in the fingerboard, it is difficult to select, or secure, a stand from the stack of stands using the gripper. Moreover, the different sized stands, based on their diameter for the proper securing of stands, require different sized gripperheads to accommodate different ranges. As most gripperheads are hydraulically actuated, the removal and replacement with a different gripperhead can take hours to complete due to connecting and disconnecting the hydraulic connections. Thus, traditional gripperheads are time consuming and laborious to change.
The present disclosure is directed to a drilling rig transportation system and methods that overcome one or more of the shortcomings in the prior art.